School Blues
by theboyandgirlwhowaited
Summary: Coraline's first week of school isn't how she would've hoped – even if Wybie's in most of her classes – but in the end she manages to gain a new friend and a new enemy. Prequel to Football and Sewing Class.


**School Blues**

**Summary: **Coraline's first week of school isn't how she would've hoped – even if Wybie's in most of her classes – but in the end she manages to gain a new friend and a new enemy. Prequel to Football and Sewing Class.

**A/N: **Hey! It's me again, with the prequel to Football and Sewing Class Wybie and Coraline actually meet Lucy for the first time. And check out the title. See what I did there? Coraline's in the blues about school and her hair is blue? Hahaha….yeaaaah. Anyway, R&R please!! I'll give you cookies!! Or something else!!

Warning – it has almost-cussing in it (it's supposed to be cussing but the words are altered so it's not) so watch out!! Haha not really. But oh well. On with the story!!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Coraline – that belongs to Neil Gaiman and Henry Selick – but I do own Lucy Barfield, Coraline's school-mates and teachers, and the dreaded Melanie Forrest and her best friend Savannah Witherspoon (don't you just love that last name? It has the word SPOON in it!! Haha!!)

~*~

_I hate the first day of school, _Coraline thought grumpily as she yanked the brush through her hair.

She glowered into the mirror. Mirror Coraline glowered back. (A/N: Read _Mother-Daughter Book Club 3: Dear Pen Pal._ ;) ) Coraline sighed and began to yank the brush through her hair again.

She didn't know why, but always on the first day of school (since third grade) her blue hair was always messed up and it always aggravated her. It was as if her hair knew it was the first day of school and wasn't going to cooperate because of it. Sighing in frustration, she threw down the brush and pushed herself away from her dresser and stomped down the stairs.

But she wasn't upset with her hair. No, she knew it was more than that. She was upset that she had to go to a new stupid school in stupid Oregon.

Yeah, yeah, she had gotten used to it here in Ashland, but still, she missed Pontiac – especially her friends Lizzie and Jake, who had been her best friends back at home. She had others, but they had been her best. She emailed them almost everyday and their answers were short and she felt hurt and confused and wondered if they ever thought about her at all.

"Morning, sunshine," said Mr. Jones happily as Coraline swung open the kitchen cabinet doors and pulled out a bowl and her favorite cereal. She simply grunted in reply. "Not in a good mood today, huh?" asked Mr. Jones as he sipped his coffee.

"Why would I be?" Coraline asked as she fished milk out of the fridge and opened the lid. She took one whiff and wrinkled her nose. "It's sour," she said distastefully, pushing it away.

"Oh yeah, I've been meaning to throw that out." Mr. Jones shrugged apologetically. "There's some up in the fridge, I think." Coraline sighed and opened the fridge, producing an un-opened bottle of milk and poured it into the cereal bowl. She carried it over to her seat at the kitchen table and began stirring her spoon in it.

"Well it is the first day of school," said Charlie, referring to Coraline's reply to his question.

Coraline threw him an 'are you serious?' look. "Exactly," she said as she spooned the cereal into her mouth. "I hate school."

"Well you've got to go anyway," said Charlie as he scanned the news looking for who had won the football game last night. "You need your education if you ever want to be a teacher."

"I don't _want _to be a teacher," Coraline groaned.

"Well what do you want to be, then?" asked her father.

"An explorer," replied Coraline matter-of-factly.

"Hmmph," said her father, and that closed the discussion.

Mel entered the room, a bathrobe around her shoulders and a bleary look on her face. "Morning," she said tiredly as she began fixing herself some coffee.

"Morning," Coraline and her dad said in unison, Coraline glumly.

Mel sat down at the table, sighing when she saw Coraline's hair. "Coraline, did you even _try _to brush it?"

"Yes!" Coraline insisted, scowling. "But it didn't work! You know how my hair gets on the first day of school!!"

Mel waved her hand as if this was simply an excuse. "Please, Coraline, you're only making that up. I'll try and brush it, okay? And if we can't get it, then we'll simply have to use a straightner." Coraline scowled at her breakfast. She hated straightners.

"So, Coraline, are you excited?" asked Mrs. Jones as she sipped her coffee.

Coraline snorted. "No."

"Well you should be," Mel insisted. "I was talking to Mrs. Lovat the other day and she said that Gerkley was fantastic – the teachers were phenomenal and while Dr. Logan is a little strict, he's the best Gerkley's seen in a while."

Coraline snorted, obviously not believing her.

"And you should be glad that Wybie's going to be there," Mel added as though she hadn't heard her. "You're lucky you've got a friend to show you around."

Coraline shrugged and shoved her cereal bowl away. "I'm not hungry," she insisted. The knots in her stomach were too tight for her to be able to swallow anything.

"Alright," said Mel lightly. "The bus will be here in thirty minutes, so you should probably get dressed."

"Fine," Coraline sighed, and did so.

Seconds later she was walking to the bus-stop, book bag slung over her shoulder, orange day-glow gloves on her hands, lunch box in one of her gloved hands, and the Gerkley school uniform over her body. Just thinking about it made Coraline scowl.

The outfit was atrocious – it was light blue, gray, and white fabric. The top was a long-sleeved white shirt with blue and gray diamond polo over it with the logo for Gerkley in the corner, but the worst about it was the skirts – a dull gray color with silver lining at the bottom. And Coraline did Not. Do. Skirts.

Along with that she had white knee socks and black loafers, which were equally ugly.

However, when she saw Wybie waiting at the bus-stop for her, her spirits lightened and she burst into laughter. Wybie wore a puzzled look as he cocked his head to the side and stared at her.

"What the heck, Wybie? You look like such a _nerd!_" exclaimed Coraline, trying to hold in her laughter.

"What?" Wybie squeaked out. "No I don't! Besides, you're wearing the same thing I am! Well, almost," he said, indicating to the skirt.

"Yeah, but it looks worse on you than it does on me!" Coraline took a deep breath to calm down.

Wybie narrowed his eyes and went red in the face. "Oh, shut up," he said. But Coraline could tell he wasn't that bothered by it.

Finally, the bus arrived. "Race you to the back!" Coraline called over her shoulder as she whizzed down the aisle and to the very back where she scooted over to make room for Wybie. Coraline had always liked the back of the bus ever since she was five – she loved how you would bounce better back there when you ran over a pot hole.

Wybie slid into the empty space Coraline had made for him, and almost as soon as they sat down, the bus began to move. Coraline began scanning the crowd of people on the bus, which weren't as many as she had suspected. Posters for Gerkley and posters on safety were pinned up on the walls and the roof and all of the kids around her were talking, laughing, giggling, or texting. Coraline rolled her eyes and concentrated on looking out the window. She had only been to Gerkley once, and that was to get her textbooks and whatnot and also to fill out registration forms. She felt her stomach begin to tie in knots. Soon the bus had stopped but Coraline let her mind wander and almost didn't look up when she felt a shadow fall over her.

"Excuse me, but, uh…that's my seat," said the person.

Coraline looked up at her, giving her an once-over. She was around Coraline's height and age so she figured she must be a sixth grader. Her hair was blonde and curly, but not the frizzy kind but the pure, natural kinds like Taylor Swift's or Jennette McCurdy's. (**A/N:** I love them.) Her lips were applied with lip-gloss and she was wearing heavy mascara. _We're only in the sixth grade, _Coraline thought to herself. _Who does she think she's going to meet? Robert Pattinson?_

"_Your _seat?" demanded Coraline. "What makes this _your _seat?"

Sighing impatiently, she pointed to the words in pink gel pen written on the wall next to the seat: _Property of Melanie Forrest. _

"Oh, my mistake," Coraline said sarcastically, but stayed rooted to the spot.

"Yes, it is. Now please get up," said the girl, who was apparently Melanie.

Coraline stared at her, stunned for a moment, surprised that she actually thought she was serious. Then, getting over her moment of dumbfound ness, she replied, "Make me."

"Coraline," Wybie hissed, elbowing the blue-haired girl in the side. "Do what she says."

Coraline laughed. "Why should I? She's no better than we are."

Melanie put on a fake apologetic look. "I think I am. Now get out of my seat."

"How many times do I have to say no?" Coraline asked.

"How many times do I have to ask you to get out of my seat?" demanded Melanie, flipping her hair with her perfectly manicured hand.

"Miss Forrest?" the bus driver peered around. "Is there a problem?"

Flustered, Melanie smoothed her clothes and adjusted her barrette and smoothly turned around. "No, ma'am," she said politely.

"Then sit down," barked the bus driver. "I have two more stops to go."

"Of course, Mrs. Brown," said Melanie angelically. She shot Coraline a dirty look and mouthed the words 'I-hate-you' before moving two seats ahead. Coraline smirked proudly.

Wybie sighed. "You shouldn't have done that, Jonesy," Wybie chided to his friend.

"And why not?" Coraline demanded again. "She doesn't have the right to boss others around."

"Well she's the most popular girl in the school, Coraline," Wybie told her. "And you really don't want her as an enemy."

"Well why not?" asked Coraline as the bus slowed to a stop beside another neighborhood.

"Because if you have Melanie as your enemy, then you have everyone as your enemy," Wybie whispered quietly, eyeing the back of Melanie's head as if it were to strike.

"How so?" asked Coraline as she watched a girl with red curly hair board the bus.

"Because everyone loves her. Everyone looks up to her. Everyone wants to be just like her. And if she doesn't like someone, then no one else likes them either."

"And why is that?" asked Coraline. "Cut to the chase, Wybie," she added impatiently.

Wybie sighed and shot her a dirty look. "Everyone copies her because they think that if they copy her they'll get accepted into her group."

"Well what's so special about some dumb group?" asked Coraline.

Wybie shrugged. "I dunno."

"Well, do you have a group?" asked Coraline, setting down her hands in her lap and turning to look out the window again.

Wybie turned red, but Coraline didn't see because her attention wasn't on him. "Well – n-no, n-not r-r-really," he said, twiddling his thumbs.

Coraline shrugged. "Yeah, well, back at my old school we didn't have 'groups'," Coraline said, adding fly marks to the word 'groups' and turning back to her friend.

"Must've been a nice school," Wybie grumbled as the school finally slowed to a stop, and for the next moment or so they didn't talk but tried hurriedly to make it to their classes.

After the first two blocks it was time for them to go to their lockers. Coraline stared at hers in awe. She'd never had a locker before, but apparently Wybie had one since third grade. She approached it and fingered the lock. Now, how did this work again? She began twirling the numbers of her combination and tried opening the door.

It didn't work.

Sighing in frustration, she tried again. Still no success. She sighed and kicked at the locker door. Lockers were such a pain. Why did they have to use them?

She felt someone tap her on her shoulder and she whipped around, wondering if it was Melanie, but it wasn't. _Good, _she thought.

"Um, it looks like you need some help with your locker," said the girl, grinning. _She looks nice, _thought Coraline. But still, she could never tell. Her hair was an auburn color and cropped close to her chin. Her eyes were a dark brown, however – so dark they appeared black.

"Uh, yeah, kinda," she said, her face feeling hot.

"Well, I could help," the girl suggested. "Here, step aside." Still blushing, Coraline moved away so the auburn girl could help her. "What's the combination?" she asked.

"Uh, 21-13-4," Coraline answered. As quick as lightning, the girl twirled the lock and the locker slipped open with ease. "Wow, thanks!" Coraline cried in astonishment.

The girl smiled. "You're welcome. Well, I guess I'll see you around." Then she walked away. As she did I noticed she was writing something down in a notebook but she thought nothing of it and began piling books in her locker.

The girl next to her tsked. "You shouldn't have done that!" She glanced at Coraline and added, "Given her your locker number, I mean."

"Why?" demanded Coraline, pulling out her Pre-Algebra textbook and stuffing it into her book-bag. She was surprised at how heavy it was.

The girl sighed and closed her locker, looking at Coraline as if she knew nothing. "Are you serious? That's Savannah Witherspoon."

"So?" demanded Coraline, slipping in a pencil pouch and four notebooks.

"Oh, I get it," the girl said, leaning against her locker and rolling her eyes. Then she looked at Coraline again. "You're new here, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Coraline replied, her eyebrows raised, her attention now turned away from her locker and her book bag swinging at her side. "What does it matter?"

"Well, do you know who Melanie Forrest is?" she demanded.

Coraline couldn't help but scowl. "Yeah, I know her."

The girl nodded. "Who doesn't?" she agreed. "But Savannah is Melanie's best friend?"

"I still don't –" began Coraline, but then she stopped. "Ohhhhhhhhh."

"Yeaaaah…" the girl nodded.

Coraline pondered over this for a moment and then shrugged and declared, "Oh well."

The girl gaped at her as Coraline returned to packing her book-bag. "So she's going to go into your locker and steal your stuff."

"Not if I carry all my stuff with me," Coraline replied smugly, packing the last book inside her bookbag and closing the door.

"Then you're back is going to break," the girl declared.

"Oh, no it won't," replied Coraline, and without waiting for a response she heaved it over her shoulder and headed for her next class – homeroom with Mrs. Brock.

~*~

"Help me!" gasped Coraline as she threw her book-bag down on the ground and fell into the empty seat beside Wybie. A girl sitting down at the end of the lunch table looked at her curiously but said nothing.

"What?" Wybie demanded, looking surprised as he set his chicken sandwich down.

"My back is literally _breaking!!_" Coraline moaned, slumping in her seat.

"How?" Wybie asked, beginning to pick up her book-bag. Before Coraline could protest he dropped it to the ground with a thud, his face red. "Holy crab, Coraline," he exclaimed. "What's in this, a pile of rocks?"

"All my books," Coraline replied tiredly, wiping fake sweat from her brow.

"Why aren't they in your locker?" Wybie asked, unzipping the bookbag and drifting through the contents.

"'Cuz," Coraline snapped. "Savannah Witherspoon has my locker number and if I put it in there she'll steal it!"

Wybie gave a low whistle. "Oh. Well, that's…bad," he admitted. "How'd she get your locker number?" he questioned, picking up his sandwich and taking a big bite.

Coraline sighed exasperatedly. "I didn't know how to open it and she did so I gave her the number and then, catastrophe!" Coraline's arms exploded into the air and Wybie glanced at her, his eyebrow raised. "And now my back hurts like H-E-double hockey sticks!"

"Told you," the girl from that morning hissed as she passed by their table and Coraline scowled and muttered, "know-it-all" under her breath.

"What's that?" asked Wybie, referring to 'H-E-double hockey sticks'.

"Oh, look it up," snapped Coraline, picking up her lunch-pail.

~*~

The rest of the week was absolutely horrible for the blue-haired girl. Her back ached so hard on Wednesday that she decided just to give up and stuffed some of her books inside, slamming the door shut and sighing exasperatedly.

"She's going to steal it," said the girl with the locker next to Coraline's all-knowingly.

"Who died and made you queen?" demanded Coraline and ran off before the girl realized that had nothing to do with her being a know-it-all. (**A/N: **I love that saying :D)

~*~

"Ugh!" Coraline screamed, throwing her bookbag down on the ground, her face clouded with anger.

"What now?" Wybie asked, sliding over make room for the girl. Again, the girl at the end of the table glanced at them curiously but again said nothing.

Coraline didn't answer at first but then snapped, "That daughter of a blitch stole my math book AND my math homework inside it!"

"Are you serious?" demanded Wybie, his face aghast. "But – but that's _stealing!!_"

"No dip, Sherlock," snapped Coraline, slanting him a look of pure hate.

"I'm not a detective," Wybie mumbled, but Coraline didn't answer.

"Just look at her!" Coraline spotted Savannah and Melanie across the room, laughing and giggling about something unknown. "I bet their talking about how they fooled me right now!! Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, UGH!!!" Coraline beat her hand on the table five times, her face clouding with anger. A teacher across the room glared at them and made a shhing noise.

"Maybe you should report her, Jonesy," suggested Wybie and Coraline slanted him a look of disbelief.

"Are you kidding? No way! I'm not a baby." She insisted. "I'm going to handle this the…hard way," she added convincingly.

"What?" questioned Wybie.

Coraline thought for a moment, sighed, and replied, "I have no idea." Wybie sighed and munched on his sandwich again.

Suddenly Coraline was surprised to find the empty seat next to her taken by the girl who had the locker next to hers and she scowled again. "Great, it's you," she muttered sarcastically. "What do you want?" she demanded.

"Well," the girl said, thinking. "I was going to help you with your situation but maybe I shouldn't." She slanted Coraline a glance.

Coraline was silent for a moment and demanded, "What ya got?"

The girl took a deep breath and leaned closer. "Okay," she began. "Melanie and Savannah are breaking into your locker and stealing your book and your homework, right?"

"Yeah," replied Coraline slowly.

"Well, you've got two options. One, you can catch her in the act and two, you can put some 'homework'," here she added fly-marks, "in your locker for her to copy."

"What do you mean by 'homework'?" asked Coraline, mimicking her fly-marks.

"I _mean,_" the girl said, and then she glanced around and whispered. "I _mean _you can do your homework twice – one is a copy that's full of wrong answers and another is a copy with right answers that's _yours. _You put the one with wrong answers in your locker and turn the one with right answers in," said the blonde.

Coraline thought for a moment before replying, "I like it. But…what about my math book?"

The girl shrugged. "She'll return it later. I mean, after all, you already turned in the math homework, right?" Coraline nodded.

"How do you know she'll return it?" Wybie asked.

"Trust me, I know," the girl reassured him. "I've been going to school with them since preschool."

"Eew," Wybie pretended to gag.

"I know," the girl declared, nodding. "But – now I know a whole bunch of secrets and weaknesses that no one else knows about – except for, perhaps, themselves." The girl gave them a sneaky look.

"I like you," Coraline decided, nodding. "But – what's your name again?"

"Lucy Amelia Barfield," the girl said. "But just call me Lucy."

"Lucy." Coraline repeated for memory.

"Cool," Wybie commented, shrugging.

"What's you guys's names?" asked Lucy.

"Coraline Allyson Jones," Coraline mimicked teasingly. "But just call me Coraline. This over here is Wyborne," Coraline jabbed a finger at her friend.

Wybie glared at the blue-haired girl. "Wybie," he corrected. "Wybie Lovat."

"Cool," Lucy replied, and instantly they began talking away – sometimes about their plans to bash Savannah and Melanie, sometimes about just random things, like siblings (Coraline and Wybie had none but Lucy had an older brother in college, a brother who had finished college and moved out, and a fifteen-year-old sister).

When lunch was dismissed, Coraline was smiling. Maybe Gerkley wasn't so bad after all.

~*~

"Did you do it?" hissed Lucy to Coraline as she slid into the empty seat next to her. Wybie sat in front, turned around and listening intently. Mrs. Powder, the science teacher began to babble away. (**A/N: **Remember, this is NORMAL science, not to be confused with Honors Life Science with Mr. Samuels which they switch to later on.)

"Yeah," Coraline hissed back. "I did."

Lucy began bouncing up and down and her seat and Coraline could see she was holding back a squeal. "I can't wait!"

It was Friday – the last day of the school week and then they had Monday off (for Labor Day). Coraline had slipped the copy with the wrong answers on her science homework in her locker that morning and had turned in the copy of her real homework quiz early that morning. It was now the afternoon – science was last block – and the three friends sat in their seats, their faces bubbling with excitement, not being able to wait until Mrs. Powder returned science homework (which had been taken up at the beginning of the block).

Finally, after some bellwork (stuff you do after the bell) and then a short quiz, she returned them. The left side of the room always went first, so Savannah and Melanie (who sat next to each other) got their sheets first. Coraline tried not to giggle as their expressions went from confident to angry to astonished to devastated, but then went to confidence again when they realized Coraline would receive the same grade. They peered anxiously at the opposite side of the room as Mrs. Powder said proudly, "Congratulations, Coraline. The only 100 in the class." And she set the paper down face-up.

Lucy held her sides to keep from laughing and Wybie buried his face in his arms. Coraline peered down at the end of the room and saw both Melanie and Savannah's faces filled with anger. "In your face!" mouthed Coraline, and she stuck her tongue out.

They looked like they wanted to leap out of their seats and strangle her, but they simply rolled their eyes and flipped their hair but began whispering despairingly to one another soon afterward, which caused Coraline to beam like she had won the Nobel Prize.

"Do you think it's over?" hissed Wybie to the two girls as he glanced at the snobs and bit his lip to keep from laughing.

Coraline shook her head. "I doubt it," she said. "But – I don't think they'll be stealing anything from my locker anytime soon."

Lucy exploded with a giggle and the three friends began to laugh until Mrs. Powder told them to calm down.

~*~

At the end of the day, Coraline returned to her locker to put up her textbook and found, with glee, that her math book had been returned. She said a silent prayer of thanks and pulled it out to show Lucy.

"Told you," she said smugly, and Coraline put the book back in her locker and closed it.

"Yup," Coraline said, beaming. "See you tomorrow – I mean Monday – Tuesday!" Coraline corrected herself. Lucy nodded and disappeared off to the carpool line.

Wybie and Coraline began chatting about the three-day weekend ahead of them and what they planned to do when Melanie came up to them, her arms crossed in front of her chest and her lips caked with so much lip-gloss it was almost distracting. "I know what you did, Coraline Jones," she hissed, her eyes narrowed into slits. Wybie gulped and backed away a little but Coraline stood her ground. "And I swear you're going to regret it. Do you know what that grade cost me? I have to give up my cell phone for 3 months!!" her voice began to crack and Coraline rolled her eyes, unsympathetic. She cleared her throat and then continued, "Anyway, I'm seriously going to make you pay. I'm going to make every single student in all of Gerkley – sixth grade, seventh grade, or eighth grade – hate every breath that you take, every step you make." She leaned closer – probably for dramatic effect.

Wybie nudged Coraline as if to say, 'I told you so.'

But Coraline didn't even flinch. "You don't scare me, Melanie Forrest. And you know what? Make everyone hate me. I don't care. But I've still got two friends that won't hate me, and you can't do anything to change that." Then she smiled fake-sweet. "Enjoy your weekend!"

Melanie scowled and stormed off.

"Whoa," Wybie said after a moment of silence. "You were – like – awesome! Way to go, Jonesy!"

Coraline shrugged in reply, but beamed anyway and was still beaming as the sixth-grade students of Gerkley boarded the bus.

~*~

"Could you pass the sauce, please, Dad?" asked Coraline from her spot at the kitchen table. Charlie picked up the cup of sauce and passed it to Coraline, who spread it on her bread-stick. They had ordered take-out that night from Hungry Howard's pizza – Coraline's dad wasn't cooking as often as he used to since Coraline persuaded her parents a little bit.

"So, kiddo," Charlie began, sipping his iced tea. "How was your first week ever of Gerkley?"

Coraline paused, thinking for a moment before replying, "Okay, I guess. The whole school may hate me, but I've got two friends to back me up." Mel lifted an eyebrow but before she could comment Coraline asked, "Pass the butter, would you, Mom?"

And that was the end of that.

**A/N: **So, do you like it? And a little fun-fact – some of the plot I stole from a _Main Street _book by Ann M. Martin, so – DON'T SUE ME!!

Oh yeah, and "Hungry Howard's" is a little spin off from "Hungry Howie's". Thought I'd get a little creative there, haha. :D

Okay, next in my Coraline series I'll be publishing a Halloween special (which will feature Melanie, Savannah, and Lucy again) and maybe a Christmas special? IDK. But R&R!! Oh, and I'll try and update 'Lost and Found' soon, too. Sorry – don't have much time to write anymore :( And 'Trapped Inside' is on hiatus right now – until my computer stops acting stupid :P (Not this one, my other one. That's where I've got 'Trapped Inside' saved. Plus my stupid neighbor rebuilt our Animal Crossing town :P Stupid daughter of a banshee :P

So, remember – R&R!!! Thanks!!

~ Cora ~


End file.
